Dollarama ups expansion goals

Dollarama continues to dominate in communities coast to coast, with plans to add up to 70 locations in fiscal 2018.

With its share price hitting a 52-week high this month, the retailer continues its aggressive expansion, upping its previous threshold goal of 1,400 locations to 1,700 locations across Canada in the next decade. It currently operates around 1,125 stores.

The discount retailer recently announced it was advancing $10 million of capital spending to address store cost-cutting initiatives including LED lighting, enhancing its in-store mobile application and improving loss prevention initiatives. It also said it would test self-checkout to combat the projected hit to their bottom lines from provincial pushes to raise the minimum wage.

Michael Ross, Dollarama's chief financial officer told analysts last month it was "doing everything to offset that (wage increase) as much as possible."

Dollarama was founded in 1992 by Larry Rossy, a third generation retailer. Dollarama offers a broad assortment of everyday consumer products, general merchandise and seasonal items, sold in individual or multiple units  at select fixed price points up to $4.00.